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I think it is ridiculous for anyone to have so many kids. Not only can they not pay proper attention to them but it is unfair to the rest of us. To each his/her own but geeesh. How many natural resources will those 18 children use in their lifetimes? How overpopulated does earth have to become before people wake up? I think 2 is plenty, three, maybe even four is fine, but more than that (on purpose, not with IF treatments accidentally) is a bit disturbing. It is not for me. I have one and I would like to have one more but any more than that and I feel that I would not have time to be a proper parent.
Just my 02 cents.
If they were using the local school district it would even be worse. For instance, the more kids you have, the less taxes you pay!? It should be the opposite really and the schools might not be out of money.

As an aside, it looks like they have a daughter-in-law.

I looked at their family website and saw they have a daughter-in-law? That poor woman. The caption they have on the wedding picture on their website has two sentences - the first welcoming this young woman into their family and the second that they look forward to grandchildren. Please! These people seem to be obsessed with babies. I love babies as much as anyone, but theirs seems so obsessively odd. I hope that young lady isn't pressured into following in her mother-in-law's footsteps.

Good for her! I could never do it, even if my body could reproduce 18 kids.

I don't get why they inspire so much hate. I know a lot of people feel sorry for the kids, but I see kids that are beaten, sexually abused and homeless everyday, and I can't feel sorry for them. The kids all seem loved and have a nice house and food and clothing and the parents can obviously afford them. Thats good enough in my book.

But who are we to criticize

If they want to do it, can do it and love doing it, the kids are happy, well, why not?

I love big families but for me that would be too much. But I wouldn't judge anyone else.

My sister-in-law is one of 14. I have never seen a more close-knit and loving family in my life. Her parents are incredibly warm and wonderful people. They are very giving and their family means everything to them. The kids are close. I am very close with my sister-in-law and the things I hear about her family are incredible.

My brother and sister-in-law's son got very sick a few years ago. It's a long story that I won't go into here. But my nephew (2 years old) needed a transplant and their best chance of getting one was going to be in Belgium. So, they picked up and moved to Belgium. They also had two other kids that were young (under than 6). They all stayed in Belgium, seeing doctors and waiting for a transplant. It was extremely hard on my brother and sister-in-law.

Wouldn't you know, that from her family, every week another sibling came out and stayed for a week to help out with everything. Everything from cleaning, helping with the other kids, going to doctors, moral support, money - you name. It was really, really nice and wonderful.

My sister-in-law has a very warm and attentive family. And there are 14 kids in her family. I've seen families with 2 kids that aren't as close and attentive as they are.

I don't know. I just feel it's wrong to judge. Who are we to say what is right or wrong for their family?

Now I am one of 9. I love it! My siblings and I all get along very well. We are very close. Honestly, if I had a few more siblings, I would have loved that too. We are all in touch with each other. The saddest part for all of us, is that we are spread out all over the place and don't get to see each other as often as we would like. But fortunately for email, we are able to keep in touch better now. My parents are very attentive and we never feel we lack in parental attention. We are always trying to see our parents and each other. And again, it's unfortunate that we can't see each other as often as we would like but we wouldn't give up what we have for anything in the world. I love having so many friends within my own family. And now that most of my siblings are married, it is fun to have even more 'siblings' - we are happy to have their spouses in the family as well. And family get-togethers are so great! It's loud, boisterous and a lot of fun. I wouldn't change what I have for anything in the world.

My kids see what my family and I have, and some of my siblings have a lot of kids, and they keep asking for more siblings. Unfortunately, infertility got in my way...

Every family is different. Some are small, some are big and there are many other ways they are different. But the goal is to have what you can handle and give everyone the attention they need. A lot of families achieve that, whether they are big or small.